1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to placing stereoscopic data within a single image channel and retrieving stereoscopic data from the single image, wherein an image channel originally designed to carry planar movie signals carries a plano-stereoscopic or two-view stereoscopic image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Stereoscopic imaging is gaining in popularity, especially the plano-stereoscopic imaging technology that uses two planar images to produce a stereoscopic effect. However, the infrastructure established for electronic storage and distribution has been for a single planar image of the requisite quality. In order to store and transmit a commercially viable stereoscopic movie or image series, such data must operate within the existing infrastructure requirements and must also meet the specifications for image quality. A certain image quality level is expected of a planar image, and the stereoscopic image should barely be diminished with respect to that standard.
The quality of the planar image—in simple terms its sharpness, its color depth, the gradation of the image, in other words its fidelity—is dependent upon the bandwidth allocated to the image. To then attempt to place two images, a left and a right, within the existing bandwidth pipeline is to invite image compromise. The problem at hand can be stated as such: How can the stereoscopic designer maintain planar image quality even when a moving image stereoscopic pair is inserted into the existing storage and distribution pipeline?
Numerous attempts have been made to combine stereoscopic television (video) images and motion picture images to fit within the allocated transmission pipeline used for a single planar image. In some cases, especially for television images, designers have been concerned with the issue of backward or downward compatibility. Backward or downward compatibility would ensure that the stereoscopic signal can be constrained to be invisible to existing television receivers.
The present design seeks to cure the problem of transmitting stereoscopic images and movies over the existing infrastructure, which had been designed to transmit single planar images. It would be advantageous to offer a design that can provide multiplexed and demultiplexed stereoscopic images without the need to replace existing components, and particularly a design that offers benefits over those previously available.